Ladies and gentlemen WELCOME to the debut edition of "Scraping the Barrel: The Top 5 Moments from TNA Impact." My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I'm proud to make my return to the ranks of TNA reviewers at Cheap-Heat.com! I used to write " Total Nonstop Analysis"—actually I still do—but moved it to our sister-site, Daily Wrestling News. In addition to my regular recap and review, I'm excited to introduce this weekly countdown of exciting segments. If you're ever unsure about what to watch, and what's worth skipping through, you can always count on Cheap-Heat to steer you in the right direction! This week's show featured inter promotional matches between members of both the TNA and Global Force Wrestling rosters. Let's begin with the FIFTH MOST IMPACTFUL MOMENT of the night…
5. Lei'D Tapa vs. Awesome Kong
This week saw the debut of several GFW talents, including Royal Red and Lei'D Tapa. Royal Red escorts Tapa to the ring, and introduces them to the
Impact Zone
, before Tapa's opponent can be introduced. The two battle back and forth in a match closely resembling one of the campier
Godzilla
films. You know, when he's fighting
other
Godzilla-like monsters? This match is eventually thrown out when both women worked their way to the top of the ramp, causing a ten-count. Awesome Kong finally took the celebrated Tapa off her feet, and slammed her on the stage. I'd like to learn more about this Royal Red dude. His beard is the coolest.
4. Sonjay Dutt vs. Tigre Uno
Sonjay Dutt made his return to TNA Wrestling after a multi-year hiatus—save for a couple "
One Night Only
" pay-per-views. Tigre Uno is the current X-Division Champion and is tasked with showing Sonjay what the roster of 2015 is all about. I wrote on
Daily Wrestling News
that I wasn't keen on this match, and the truth is I wasn't. I thought Sonjay looked piss-poor, and Tigre Uno is becoming almost mechanical. That being said, there's a certain nostalgia factor that cannot be ignore when it comes to someone like Sonjay showing up. Dutt broke into the business in 2000, just before WCW and their famed Cruiserweight Division were on the brink of foreclosure. He needed a company like TNA to get noticed on a national level in the United States, and is considered one of the forefathers of Impact Wrestling. Tigre Uno won the match, as well he should have. It remains to be seen if Donald Trump will show up and accept Tigre's challenge, by the way.
3. Jessie Godderz vs. Bobby Lashley
The upcoming
King of the Mountain Match
will most certainly need a handful of competitors, and both Bobby Lashley and Jessie Godderz want in! I thought this was a fun match, believe it or not. It was all Jessie, for most of the bout; "The Man" focused on dissecting the Destroyer so that he could eventually defeat him with the dreaded "Adonis Crab." I think Godderz looked a little stiff in this match. And by stiff, I don't mean the wrestling term—I mean
STIFF.
Like if he was the "Tin Man," he'd need some oil. That being said, he had a decent showing against a former
TNA World Champion
. Godderz stood over Lashley ready to perform his signature submission but Lashley shook him away and won the match with a
successful
Spear out of nowhere.
2. Tag Team Championship Match
The tag team titles are on the line tonight as members of the TNA Roster—Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards of the American Wolves—are set to defend against a pair of GFW Invaders. Those invaders are none other than former WWE Superstar Brian Meyers [Curt Hawkins] and 21-year old independent sensation Trevor Lee. Maybe sensation isn't the right word. Uh—wrestler? Maybe hyperbole is best saved for
Monday Nitro.
A highly competitive match, and probably match of the night in my opinion. When the dust settled, the American Wolves walked away victorious and still in possession of
the
most legitimate championship in TNA. Never fear GFW fans—
SPOILER ALERT
—TNA is taped
SO
far in advance that the GFW boys will win the titles, and then lose them to the Wolves again. Seriously.
1. The King of the Mountain Match
I'm not a fan of the whole
King of the Mountain Match
format, nor am I all about this title belt that means you can challenge for another title belt. That's all sort of screwy to me. But it's the main event and it's the "First King of the Mountain Match on Impact." Which is 150% not true. TNA is represented by Bobby Lashley, Eric Young and Robbie E, while Global Force Wrestling's side features PJ Black [Justin Gabriel] and the former "Masterpiece" Chris Mordetzky [Chris Masters]. An absolutely catastrophic collision of events that culminated with Robbie E taking what's been described as a "leap of faith" from the top of the ladder. I thought this was an absolute train wreck, as are most of these
HIGHLY
choreographed
King of the Mountain
bouts. But at the same time, I was excited to see key players from another promotion cross paths with TNA talent on
Destination America.
If only those "key players" were from Ring of Honor. This all seems like a more elaborate rendition of the "NWO Invasion." PJ Black won the match, and will wrestle Ethan Carter in the near future for his world championship. I hope they don't somehow involve Matt Hardy in that.
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